


Clearing the Air

by Decisions_Decisions



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: After The Abominable Bride, Friendship, Gen, It's not too late to apologize, No Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-25
Packaged: 2018-05-16 03:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5812396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Decisions_Decisions/pseuds/Decisions_Decisions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly and Sherlock have a much needed talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clearing the Air

Molly bit her lip as she waited outside the door to the lab. She could just walk in but she couldn’t even begin to make her feet do more than shift in place. The once hot mug was cooling in her hands. She took in a shaky breath and pushed the door open ignoring the way her feet turned leaden and tried to trip her up.

“Hi Sherlock.” Her voice was a nervous squeak squeezed out of breathless lungs. She cleared her throat and held up the mug with a forced smile. “I brought you coffee, it’s black with two sugars.”

Sherlock didn’t look up at her, his focus remained firmly on the slide in the microscope. She tapped the mug with her fingers feeling her resolve begin to shatter under the weight of his indifference. She looked down at the floor her eyes tracing over the tiles she walked over every day taking comfort in the familiarity of it.

“I know you don’t want to talk, but I think we need to.” She said hopefully walking closer with the coffee held out like an olive branch in her hands.

“I think enough has already been said. Don’t you?” Sherlock said as he detached the slide and slid in another to compare them.

He seemed to have his mind on the work, but Molly could see the way he seemingly without realizing that he had scrunched in on himself and leaned away from her. It reminded her of Toby the first few days she’d had him. The poor thing had always startled whenever she reached out to pet him and he hid from her for weeks until his nervousness faded and he acted as though she had always been Mummy Molly. Sherlock's shoulders were hunched, his body as curled in on itself as it could get without sending him sprawling onto the floor and she was suddenly reminded of why she'd come here. 

“I’m sorry.” Molly forced the words out quickly before they could escape as she clutched at the coffee like a lifeline. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have slapped you. You were hurting, you needed your friends, you needed me to be your friend, and I hurt you.”

Sherlock blinked his eyes flicking up to look at her before he looked back down at the microscope. Molly waited for him to respond telling herself that he just needed a little time to process his emotions. He sighed after a long moment and stood reaching out for the coffee taking it with a smile that toed the line between real and fake. Molly watched as he took a sip of the lukewarm liquid with a wince before he forced a smile for her sake.

“Thank you Molly for the coffee.” Sherlock said as he returned to his seat and set it down on a spot that was out of the way but still easy to reach.

“I thought that if we could just spend some time alone together, you would, you would finally see that we were meant to be.” She blushed and looked down rubbing her elbow with her hand. She didn’t know why she was talking but the words kept coming out of her mouth like a leaky faucet.

“I thought that you would realize that you loved me and you’d tell me to leave Tom and run away with you just like it happens in the movies. We went on those cases together and I thought this is it, it’s finally happening, he’s going to realize he loves me. But when you wanted my attention you called his name. John was the only person you were thinking about.” She frowned for a moment before replacing it with a surprisingly real smile. 

“Before then I was so caught up in this fantasy of what would happen that I refused to believe that there wasn’t anything more than friendship between us. But when the cases were over I knew that it wasn’t going to be like the movies and…” She trailed off her voice so soft that she wasn't even sure Sherlock had heard her. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry for misleading you. I should never have given you the impression that I had feelings for you that I don’t have.” Sherlock’s voice was quiet but sturdy and earnest. He cleared his throat his mouth quirking as though his lips didn’t quite know what to do.

“Would you like to get coffee? Not as a date but as friends.” She asked twisting her fingers. 

Sherlock looked down at the cup with an exaggerated raise of his eyebrows and she had to hold back a giggle. He picked up his coat and slid it onto his shoulders stoping beside her and gesturing to the door. “To be honest I don’t much care for coffee, how does tea sound?”

Molly blinked for a second before relief pulled her lips into a brilliant smile. “Tea sounds great.”

“I know this little place nearby and I have a feeling you’ll like the barista.” Sherlock said and something about his smile reminded her of a few of her more mischievous cousins.

“Sherlock this doesn’t look like a shop.” Molly said a few minutes later as Sherlock knocked on an apartment door with a grin that was nearly manic. 

A bleary eyed Lestrade wearing a fuzzy dressing gown opened the door with a scowl that quickly dissolved into utter confusion. “Sherlock Molly it’s my day off why are you at my house?”


End file.
